Authors Note:

So far I hope that the few of you who have been reading this story of mine have been entertained. I've gotten some good reviews so far, and my hope is that you will all continue to read as the chapters continue to be published. Reviews are good stuff, it makes the writer all happy and gets him (me) off his butt and working on more chapters. Piccolo has always been my favorite character in the Dragonball universe, he's so serious and has this aura about him…I just felt the need to present him in a different light. More cameos will happen in the future.

Disclaimer: All character names, places etc are all © by someone other than myself. I do this not for money, but for the simple pleasure of being creative.

Ta!

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The townsfolk cautiously gave a wide birth to the slumbering green man who was sprawled out in the middle of the busy street. By noon of the next day, the local taverns and marketplaces were filled with constant chatter of the prior day's events. The talk ranged from this outsiders audacity. First to refuse to have a bar fight inside an actual bar, then to make matters worse, had simply passed out in the middle of a road when any self respecting drunkard would simply stumble off to whence he came from. Streams of people would line up at the edge of the street to see this green man for themselves. The city police finally had to barricade the street so that the mob of onlookers would be kept at a safe distance incase the funny looking stranger awakened. By the next night, the topic of conversation had changed from what was going to happen next, to questions of if he would wake up.

After three days, the city elders got together and pondered on what to do. One suggestion was to simply build a room around the stranger so to keep the busy-bodies away. Another was to move the entire town a few hundred meters down the road. The debate lasted all night and early into the next morning when a young child wandered in and asked the obvious question.

"Can't we just wake him up and ask him to leave?" The young child asked.

The wise elders quickly formed a tight circle and discussed this new idea. It was agreed that it seemed the best solution, but the question remained, who would be given this task? Unfortunately, the youth stayed around longer than he should have, and was immediately elected as the towns' official "Waker of the Slumbering Green Guys".

As the youth headed towards the slumbering form, a small crowd formed at a distance behind him. Curiosity had overwhelmed many in the town to come see what would happen, but their survival instinct caused them to follow at a very safe distance, half a block away from the youth.

Scanning the street from side to side, the youth looked in vain for something that would help him in his quest. Suddenly he spied it, a nice long stick that would allow him a few precious extra feet of distance.

The distance between the youth and the slumbering figure slowly decreased. Every step he took, was agonizing, beads of sweat ran down his forehead in torrents. The seconds dragged on until finally, he arrived at his destination. The rhythmic sounds of breathing coming from the green man dashed away any hopes that the stranger had expired, and now he was forced to do his newly appointed duty, wake him up.

Cautiously, he extended his stick towards the form, his body shaking so hard that the tip of the stick bounced back and forth in a large arc. Closing his eyes to steady himself, the youth leaned forward, feeling his way instead of daring to look at what he was attempting to do.

"Kid, if I were you, I would drop that stick and go running to mommy"

Quickly spinning around, the youth dropped the stick and with a high pitched "Aiiiiieeeee", ran screaming down the street. Seeing the youth run full tilt at them, the crowd copied his actions, and turned and ran screaming in all directions, all directions except towards the green stranger.

Slowly moving into a sitting position, Piccolo rubbed his head and glanced upwards towards the sky. Seeing nothing but blue sky overhead, Piccolo breathed a sigh of relief and rose to his feet. He glanced over his shoulder at "The Watering Hole" and began to massage his temples. Turning slowly, he walked towards the shattered remains of what once used to be twin swinging doors.

Cautiously, he peeked his head inside, scanning for any signs of the bartender. Seeing nothing but overturned tables and broken barstools, Piccolo stumbled across the hardwood floor, and collapsed against the bar. Pulling himself over the counter, he began ruffling around looking for something. A muffled cry escaped him as he found what he had sought out, a half torn notebook and badly chewed on pen. Flipping through the notebook for an empty page, he scribbled a simple note. As he tore the page from the notebook he spied something of interest amongst the bottles. He quickly scribbled an addition to his note before grabbing two bottles from behind the counter. Dropping the note and pen in plain view on the countertop, Piccolo took his new found treasures and stumbled out of the bar.

Early the next morning, the barkeep entered his once proud establishment and gave a gasp of despair. Tears rolled down his dust covered cheeks as he turned barstools and tables upright, doing his best to set up for business that he knew would be slow in returning. As he walked towards the counter to grab his broom and pan, he spied a single sheet of notebook paper laying in plain view on the counter. Picking it up, he went over its contents before letting out a whoop of joy. Quickly re-reading the note, he saw that his eyes were not mistaken, and let out a louder WHOOOP!

Sir,

I must appoligize for the damage done to your fine establishment a few days ago. Just send me a bill for the damages and any unpaid bar tabs and I will see to it that it is paid for. Again I am sorry for the events of the other night. I am lower than dirt.

Signed,

Son Goku

p.s. I also took two bottles of your finest hard water, please add them to the bill, thanks!

To be continued….